Changes

I've obviously gone back and forth regarding changes for this blog, and I haven't been very active on it since moving to a free blogging platform. I lost all my pictures and other hard work I put into it over the year I had it on a self hosted wordpress site. Trying to keep up with homeschooling and Pea of Sweetness I don't have time to make up for what I lost, so I got pretty discouraged. I've been doing a lot of research, though, and it seems I can actually host BOTH of my blogs on my hosting accounts, which means I wouldn't be paying extra, and I can move this blog back to a self-hosted platform and only pay one hosting fee. I am looking into this further. If that is the case I still have my original file from when it was on a self-hosted platform, which means I'd get all my pictures and hard work back, too! :) That being said, I may not be able to keep the same domain depending on if they can move it or not, and I might even want to take a slightly different direction with this site, so we shall see. I'll be thinking about all of this and planning, but I know, for sure, I'm excited to get it up and going again! :)

My favorite workout program!

WOW!! My favorite workout program is RevAbs, which I know I've mentioned about a billion times! haha In fact, it always seems like when I start another program I always go back to RevAbs. It's definitely given me the best results, and I really just enjoy it! I'm super excited to announce it's on MAJOR sale right now! It's only $29!!! It's usually $89.99! And when you order through an Independent Beachbody Coach like me you not only get my support, but you also get a free bonus workout with your order! Seriously, I'm considering buying another copy just because it was revamped recently, but you definitely don't want to miss this!! This is available TODAY ONLY!!!!

Crunches Challenge

Ah, I'm behind! It's already July, and I never implemented this month's challenge! To re-cap last month we did a health challenge that challenged us to eat a green fruit or vegetable every day. I'll be honest, I was pretty boring and didn't mix it up a lot. I already eat a salad a day with a mix of romaine or spinach, so that was my "usual" green. It still fits the challenge, though! haha Were you taking the challenge with me? If so, how did you do? Did you mix it up or stick to a favorite? Please share your story in the comments! :)

So, that means July is a fitness challenge month. I'm sure you probably saw this coming since my last fitness challenge was a pushup challenge - crunches! You can mix it up however you would like - crunches, situps, reverse situps, obliques, etc. Since we're already a few days into the month (oops, I promise my scattered posts, falling behind, etc. is for a good reason right now) instead of 3,000 like I was originally planning let's do 2500! So, are you with me?? That's less than 100 a day, and you don't have to do all 100 at the same time. Because pushups are a "weak spot" for me, I split them up in sets of 10 throughout the day. This was also more feasible with the kids around, too!



Some tips for proper crunches and sit-ups:

• If you prefer to put your hands behind your head make sure to keep your arms relaxed. DO NOT LEAD WITH YOUR ARMS. Concentrate very carefully on your abdominal muscles doing the work! The same is true of oblique crunches - concentrate on your oblique muscles doing the work!


• If you're doing small crunches keep your face toward the ceiling. Don't tuck your chin! Again, lead with the abs, not your face or arms.


• Keep your feet firm on the ground. If this is too hard ask if someone can hold them down for you or if you have a sofa nearby stick your feet under it! Again, focus on your abdominal muscles doing the work!


• Breathe in on the way down and breathe out with force on the way up - this not only helps you to focus on breathing properly, but it also helps you engage your abdominal muscles!


• With anything warm up and stretch before and after!

Crunches are great to improve your core muscles and strengthen your abs. If you're really looking to define your abs crunches alone are NOT the answer! The saying "abs are made in the kitchen" is becoming popular because what you eat largely determines what might be "hiding" those abdominal muscles - particularly females. We have it a little harder because things like stress can also increase cortisol and therefore increase belly fat. I'm currently doing RevAbs again and have gotten great results, and not only is his passion awesome, but his knowledge of nutrition is phenomenal! He shares MANY great tips/tricks for beating the belly bloat and belly fat!

So will YOU be taking our fitness challenge this month? I hope you'll join me!

Lots of new stuff!!

First of all, I want to announce the winners of our sister site Pea of Sweetness's 1K Fan Giveaway! Congrats to the grand prize winner Christina I. who won a bottle of NeriumAD, a 7-pack of Inspirin, and a $20 Pea of Sweetness Gift Certificate! Congrats to the runner-up Erin M. who won the one-week supply of Chocolate Shakeology sponsored by 1 Fit 2 Serve! :) I hope you both enjoy your prizes!

Next, there is exciting news! Many Coaches attended Beachbody's Summit in Las Vegas, and although we did not, I was seeing many updates via Instagram! It was a neat way to share the excitement! The most exciting thing is those updates are available NOW!! Yes, you can head on over to your Team Beachbody account and order the new products NOW! So what are they?

Vegan Chocolate Shakeology! Not only is there now a vegan formula for Chocolate Shakeology but they've added some more super foods as well! Wow! I can't wait to try it myself!

"Body Beast" workout program. This program was designed by a professional body builder to bulk you up. Probably not ideal for the ladies (unless you do want bulk muscle - I personally prefer lean muscle as a lady), but it definitely looks like a great program! The workouts are intense but not terribly long and very target focused!

And the skincare line "Derm Exclusive" can also be purchased through Team Beachbody.

Product safety:

• No harmful ingredients such as sulfates, parabens, formaldehyde, or hydroquinone (this is fantastic because we don't use parabens or other harmful chemicals! For more on eco-friendly products and living head over to our sister site Pea of Sweetness!)


• Dermatologist tested and approved


• No animal-derived ingredients and never tested on animals

Lots of new things available now! :) So head on over and check it out! Don't forget to keep logging your workouts on WOWY (I forgot a couple times this week, so that's why I'm posting a reminder! haha) because each day you log a workout is a chance to win money! Keep pushing play!

Changes

Well, I was contemplating changes to this website, which I think I mentioned before as a downgrade to a free blog instead of a self-hosted one. I'm still really torn about the decision, though. I obviously have a lot of "affiliate links" on this site, which are actually links to Beachbody programs, supplements, etc. because I am an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. So when I tried to easily transition everything wordpress.com got mad at me for having too many affiliate links. I am still a Beachbody Coach, but I am not as active anymore. I started this website not *just* because I'm a Coach but because I wanted to share my journey in hopes of inspiring others to live a healthier lifestyle. It's not free to run this site, though, and I was hoping by also sharing that I'm an Independent Team Beachbody Coach it would not only help our family out a little bit by sharing the awesome programs that I would recommend anyway and Shakeology, which I obviously also highly recommend. If you're going to recommend it anyway might as well get paid for it, right? That's why I'm a Coach because I do believe in the products and would recommend them regardless. I'm a Coach because I felt called to inspire others that are living with chronic conditions or moms with young kids, etc. to let them know they CAN do it! If I can do it, I know they can do it! I still feel that calling! I feel called to help others, inspire others, etc. I feel that Beachbody is a great vehicle to help me do that! My calling has not changed! I still feel the pulling to help others, inspire others, etc. But what about the cost? It isn't free to run a self hosted website, and I'm not making enough through my "affiliate links" to pay for the website. I've experienced many emotional ups and downs in regards to both this website and my Beachbody business. People say I inspire them and encourage them, which is so amazingly rewarding, but then they don't trust me enough to order products from me or they get something cheaper (sometimes of lower quality or in supplements case - artificial JUNK), or they burn a copy, borrow a copy, etc. of the workouts, and it breaks my heart - not because I am greedy for money (though our family can surely use it!) but because it's like saying they don't trust me, respect my time, etc. I feel like I put in SO much effort to maintain this site (or I try to anyway! haha), and now I'm putting in more money than I'm making - which we really don't have. So if I "downgrade" to keep up my mission of supporting others I lose all my "affiliate links" and have to manually go through and edit each post that contains them. So, my decision is still "undecided." I don't really know for sure what I'm going to do. One thing people ask me is since I'm not very active with Beachbody anymore will I no longer be a coach. In short, the answer is "no" I will not stop being a Beachbody Coach. I LOVE the products and Shakeology has changed our lives in so many ways it's natural to have a loyalty to it! I'll still use the programs, buy the supplements that fit our lifestyle, and drink Shakeology - and I will STILL recommend them to others! :) I will still support the coaches on my team and appreciate our Beachbody family! The only thing this decision pertains to is whether or not I will continue to run a self-hosted blog I pay for monthly or take the time to downgrade everything to a free blog and yes, lose my links. I'll make a decision eventually!

And... speaking of changes. I'm going back to RevAbs! I know, I know, I was so excited to finally start Turbo Fire because it was one of those programs I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do! I did still have to modify some, but I did gain some great endurance, flexibility, and major posture improvement! But what it boils down to is... well, I don't know. I either miss RevAbs or I just don't like Turbo Fire as much as RevAbs. I know many people would totally disagree because they say RevAbs is repetitive and boring, but I feel like it's a good mix of everything - cardio, strength, some capoeira (REAL capoeira), and the core strength I got from RevAbs was just phenomenal, and I want to keep that up and improve it even more! So, I'm really excited to be doing RevAbs again. I've decided to start from the beginning again and do it all the way through Full Throttle! :) Woo hoo! I'm already extremely sore today because my body was so out of the strength training. Woo! I missed it! haha I seriously can't wait to see the results!

June's Challenge

It's time to introduce a challenge for June! This time it will be a nutrition challenge! For May it was my Pushup Challenge, which I'm rounding out today. Those that were taking the challenge with me - how did you do? I fell behind because of injury and then illness! Blech! I found a way to catch up without totally burning myself out, though, by just doing so many every couple of hours. My maximum limit was 12-15 at one time (unmodified) when I started the challenge, but now I can do 20-23 before I hit my limit! I'm so excited! :)

So, for June we'll be doing a nutrition challenge! One of my friends happened to invite me to one of hers, and it's perfect, so I'm hopping on board and hope you will join us, too! It's the "Get Your Greens on Challenge." I challenge you to eat AT LEAST one green thing every day in the month of June. That green thing must be a fruit or veggie. I'd really love to see us all strive for a green veggie every day. There are so many fresh and local green veggies available to us this time of year. Visit your local farm stand or farmer's market. Why not come home with something you've never tried before?



Green vegetables particularly have SO many health benefits yet is one thing we don't think to have daily! Green vegetables are:

• Loaded with vitamins and minerals. Dark leafy green vegetables are one of the best sources of nutrition, and they’re low in calories to boot. Greens such as spinach, kale, broccoli, and dark-green lettuce contain minerals including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium as well as vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. Vitamin K alone can help regulate blood clotting and may help prevent and reduce inflammation, protecting us from inflammatory diseases including arthritis. A cup of most cooked greens such as chard or kale provides at least nine times the minimum recommended intake of vitamin K, and one or more servings of greens a day has been associated with a lower risk of diabetes.


• They keep our immune system functioning well!Green vegetables also contain many phyto-chemicals and beta-carotene. These nutrients help protect cells from damage, improve immune function and can help protect our eyes from age-related disease, and some studies suggest that lutein and zeaxanthin may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer such as breast and lung. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli are rich in substances that also help guard against colon and other cancers. And green veggies are loaded with folate, a B vitamin especially important for women of childbearing age (remember how they always tell us to take vitamins with extra folic acid?). The Centers for Disease Control and the FDA currently recommend that women take in 400 micrograms of folate daily, twice as much as was previously recommended.


• They're a great for any nutrition regiment (I hate to use the word "diet," but that might be what you call it). Greens are naturally low in carbohydrates and rich in fiber, making them slow to digest, so you’ll feel full longer. And the good news is that in order to get the most out of your green vegetables you should eat them with a little fat, such as olive or walnut oil, so you can sauté, stir-fry, and make tasty salad dressings for your greens and enjoy!

So what do you say? Will you be joining us for this challenge? If so, she even set up a support group on Facebook! Join here!

Are you up for another challenge? Join me at my sister site Pea of Sweetness for this challenge as well as The Love Dare!

Flexibility

Wow, I'm so behind! I'm still behind on my pushups challenge, but I'm catching up! I'm most definitely behind on updating on here! I'm so busy with life, business, etc. I'm actually in the process of downgrading this site for that reason as well! That post will have to wait for another day, though! :-)

I wanted to update on how things are going in my personal health and fitness world. As I mentioned, I'm still working on catching up on my pushups and I am still having a few issues with my neck, though, but nothing I can't work through! As far as my workouts with Turbo Fire I still have some days I have to modify, but it's definitely getting better! I'm still playing with our daily schedule to find the ideal workout time for me! I noticed late afternoon is definitely NOT my ideal as that seems to be my "down time." Even with the Energy and Endurance Formula I still feel a bit tired during that time frame! That's good to know, though, because it narrows it down a little more!

I got a new heart rate monitor because the kids did something to my other one that is beyond my being able to figure it out! I wanted to be able to see how my heart rate is particularly because I'm doing a cardio intensive program (and it's actually just good for me to know in general since I've had heart surgery) but also to monitor calorie burn so I can start tracking that again more sufficiently! I've noticed probably 90% or more of the workouts I'm above my "fat burning zone" and sometimes even above my "cardio zone." When it gets to 100% it just says "HIGH" haha Now that I can see what's going on it helps me to better gauge what I need to do as far as intensity. I think it was a wise decision to get another one!

One thing I have noticed besides my cardio obviously improving is my flexibility and posture! Posture is particularly a big deal for me! I have scoliosis in my lower back PLUS I tend to slouch. It's actually why they believe I have issues with my neck and tension headaches (it's been an ongoing problem, so although I did actually strain a muscle in my neck a couple weeks ago general neck pain is an ongoing problem). My husband is always on my case about slouching (as he should be!), but he said he's amazed and how much better my posture has been! He insisted on taking some photos of my posture as well as my flexibility improvement! I'm excited because I know it will ALL continue to get better! :-)